An activist of the organisation atttac has a clothes-pin on her nose with the slogan ‘Wealth on ONE pile? We are cheesed off!’ during a demonstration against the money policy of Germany and Europe in Berlin. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Here are the things we learned, loved and shared today.

THINGS WE LEARNED:

#TAX TAKE: Ireland has reduced its deficit by €10 billion to €14.9 billion in 2012. Final exchequer returns for last year also show that the government took in €36.6 billion in tax revenue (about €271 million more-than-expected).

#MURDER: Three people, including two teenagers, have now been arrested in connection with the death of 19-year-old Monaghan student Jason McGovern. He died from head injuries after being assaulted twice while on a night out in Omagh, across the border.

#QUINN FAMILY: After nine weeks in Mountjoy Prison, businessman Seán Quinn was released today. In an interview with BBC Newsline, the former billionaire said that 100 per cent of his fellow inmates felt he should not have been there.

#INTERNET EMPIRE: Buzzfeed continues with its attempt to take over the Internet with another round of massive funding. This time, $19.3 million has been raised as part of Jonah Peretti’s efforts to build “the next great media company”.

#INDIA: Five men have been formally charged with murder, kidnapping and rape following the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student in Delhi. A sixth suspect was not charged today as police are waiting for the results of a bone test which will verify his age. It is believed the sixth male could be just 17-years-old.

#THE VATICAN: Bank card payments have been suspended in the Vatican by the Bank of Italy because of its failure to fully-implement anti-money laundering legislation.

THINGS WE LOVED

• Everything about this Eggs Facebook page. But, particularly, Buzzfeed’s take on it and the photo of the poorly egg.

• Spuds.
• The Economist’s editorial calling for Angela Merkel et al. to give Ireland the helping hand it deserves.

THINGS WE SHARED

• The Taoiseach was among many who paid tribute to Ian McKeever today after he died tragically while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The 42-year-old spent part of his career working for AA Ireland and one of the most touching eulogies came from his former colleague Conor Faughnan.
• Michael Hirsh looks at why the Tea Party will live on over at The Atlantic.
• Are you a CEO, lawyer or involved in the media? Well, your professions have the highest percent of psychopaths, according to a new book. Accountants, doctors and creative artists are much safer people to hang around with, seemingly.
• Did you comment on how mild the weather was today? These conditions are expected to continue over the weekend so it looks like we won’t be participating in any snow-related activities this year. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn the science behind the snowflake:

(YouTube Credit: BytesizeScience)

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